Since the end of proof of vaccination, the Prince Albert Food Bank has reliably seen more people coming in. (File Photo/paNOW Staff)

By Rob Mahon

Food Bank and Masks

Prince Albert Food Bank settling into new rhythm as mandates lift

Mar 1, 2022 | 5:00 PM

The end of mask and vaccine mandates within Saskatchewan have slowly start to bring more people into local businesses and entertainment venues. Even the local food bank has seen an increase in people coming through their doors.

While it may not seem like there’s much correlation there, the Prince Albert Food Bank did notice an increase in people coming through their doors almost as soon as the vaccine mandate in Saskatchewan was lifted.

“I’m not quite sure why, but it did actually pick up here,” said Kim Scruby, executive director of the Prince Albert Food Bank. “We did require masks, but you didn’t require a passport to come in. But as soon as that lifted, within about three or four days I noticed we started getting busier and it’s kept on steadily since.”

Scruby has only guesses as to why this is, theorizing that people are getting out and about more generally. As for the mandatory mask policy lifting yesterday, he said so far that hasn’t led to many changes for them.

“It’s funny, pretty much everybody that’s shown up today so far has been wearing one,” Scruby said. “I think at this point, it’s just kind of habit at this point. In the past two years, when masks were mandatory, I think we only had one person who had an issue with it. We’ve had no problem at all with people following the rules.”

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As of now, the food bank doesn’t have any major food drives planned as a sort of end-of-mandate celebration, but they are working to bring back some larger events.

“With COVID kind of hanging over our heads it was hard to do anything public or that would draw a crowd,” Scruby said. “If indeed it is over, we’ll probably be looking at putting together some sort of spring food drive. But we’re just going to have to wait and make sure to see that the numbers don’t start going up again.”

A lack of major food drives could’ve left the bank in a tight spot, especially as demand for their services has been up almost since the pandemic began. Thanks to smaller donations, however, they pulled through.

“In that we haven’t been able to do that sort of thing for almost the past two years, it’s been amazing to see people just coming by and dropping off food donations,” Scruby said. “So even though we couldn’t have the major events, we’ve still gotten a lot of support from the community.”

Scruby added it felt strange to think they’ve been dealing with the pandemic for nearly two full years, with the anniversary of COVID’s arrival in Saskatchewan now under two weeks away.

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rob.mahon@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @RobMahonPxP